In order to equip a circuit board with components, for some components, it is necessary additionally to fasten them mechanically to the circuit board with a peg having a latching device. By this means, the peg penetrates a hole in the circuit board, whereby a detent lug on the penetrating end of the peg latches onto the side of the circuit board opposed to the component and thereby mechanically fixes the component once it has been inserted. It is, however, disadvantageous herein that the placement force alone is 10 N, which cannot be achieved with conventional component inserting machines. This applies all the more to the force required for latching, which is usually in the range of 60 N to 110 N. Therefore, formerly such components have had to be inserted and latched manually. However, this entails a high cost.
It is an object of the invention to improve a component and a method of the aforementioned type such that fitting and locking of this component in a circuit board can be carried out by machine reliably and at low cost.